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What I think the purpose of the life is is to live happily with our loved ones.

There are same be verb(is) one after another. Is the sentence grammatically correct?

Can this sentence be reduced to: I think the purpose of the life is to live happily with our loved ones.

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    More briefly I think the purpose of life is to live happily with our loved ones.
    – Narasimham
    Commented Dec 10, 2022 at 19:17
  • Consider - do you think/say "...is is..." or does it have an implied pause in between? "....life is, is to live..."
    – Criggie
    Commented Dec 10, 2022 at 20:42
  • Correct, but awkward. In addition to Narashimham's suggestion, an alternative closer to the current wording is "What I think to be the purpose of life is to live happily with our loved ones".
    – chepner
    Commented Dec 11, 2022 at 1:25

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Yes, "is is" is grammatically correct in that sentence, and yes it has the exact meaning you reduce it to.

The subject is, "What I think the purpose of life is" (not "the life"). This is a noun phrase. The main verb is "is". The subject complement is "to live happily with our loved ones".

Here's some more examples with video clips:

The only thing there is is cognition

What it is is the National Park Service is providing staff...

And why that is is still a mystery

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  • It might be worth mentioning that (I think) the reduced form would be preferred in formal contexts. (Though you are likely to hear both in everyday life).
    – Dan
    Commented Dec 10, 2022 at 16:54
  • May also be worth pointing out that although ‘is is’ is correct in the particular case, it's often misused. (E.g. “The thing is, is that…”)
    – gidds
    Commented Dec 10, 2022 at 19:16

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